


to change is to improve

by thebeastinme



Series: ultimate ot4 [2]
Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Blood and Injury, F/F, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:48:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29122173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebeastinme/pseuds/thebeastinme
Summary: She didn’t ascribe to the traditional soul mate theory – that soul mates belonged to each other. She didn’t understand why it mattered until Ned wormed his way into her heart, and into her head, and she went from being a strong, independent women to belonging to someone else and feeling like she had a home. Now, she’s Peter’s, too, and Peter is hers, the same way Ned is hers. Ned has been hers, he’s always been there in any capacity that she needs, and he’s never pushed her, and he’s never asked her about not having blue marks, he’s just been there for her, supported her, and let her lean on them, because they belonged to each other. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t romantic yet, because there was always the undercurrent of the eventuality, and they both knew it – that eventually, they’d be more to each other, but something would have to happen first – MJ didn’t expect that something to be Peter fucking Parker.Set in the same soul mark verse as "there are no accidental meetings".
Relationships: Michelle Jones/Ned Leeds, Michelle Jones/Ned Leeds/Peter Parker
Series: ultimate ot4 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2136822
Kudos: 16





	to change is to improve

**Author's Note:**

> this is a character study of MJ from "there are no accidental meetings." hopefully I plan on doing more of these - I think Ned and Peter, and maybe ever Tony lend themselves well to this. who knows tbh. 
> 
> a continuation / off shoot set in the same universe what with the soul marks and such.

MJ is ten, and her brother says her mom isn’t coming home, and they aren’t getting a baby sister after all. She nods from her position huddled up in her covers, watches her brother rub his fingers over his right forearm. She asks him if he’s going to be okay – he had one blue mark, and one black mark, and they both knew that their dad didn’t have any blue marks. Her brother sighs and nods, then leaves her room, shutting the door tightly. She doesn’t see her brother again until Christmas.

MJ is fourteen, and she is sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast while her dad reads the newspaper across from her. She can see his soul marks through his white button-down shirt: one black mark. Nothing more, nothing less. She doesn’t finish her oatmeal, instead, she dumps the rest in the trash, grabs her backpack from her room, and leaves for school. She doesn’t want to be late.

MJ is fifteen, and she meets Ned Leeds on Monday afternoon in the first academic decathlon meeting of the year. They’re the only two newcomers, the only two sophomores to make the cut. They sit together, mostly out of convenience. Ned is bubbly, and talkative. MJ is not. This does not stop Ned from talking to her everyday and sitting with her at lunch. He doesn’t question her habit of eating half her food, then pushing it away in favor of a novel. She comes to appreciate his stream of consciousness.

She notices the change in her soul mark after two months of Ned sitting with her every day. She has two black marks marring her light brown skin. She doesn’t make an effort to hide them, but doesn’t show them off. She only notices the change in hers when Ned mentions the change in his. He has five dots spanning his arm between his wrist and the crease in his elbow – two are blue, one is yellow. The other two are black.

At Ned’s words, she glances down to her arm, hidden by her sleeve – she doesn’t look at them every day, not anymore. But there’s a little voice, in the back of her mind, telling her to ruck up her sleeve, and see if there’s a change, so she does, she gives in, and one of her three black marks has turned yellow, the same shade as Ned’s. Ned doesn’t say a word about it – instead, he grins and says he thinks it’s cool, and then asks if she’s seen the new AcaDec shirts. She finds herself grateful for him.

MJ is sixteen, and she sits with Ned at lunch every day, and they hang out after school, saying they’re going to study for AcaDec so her dad isn’t suspicious. Instead, they climb out to the fire escape, and Ned lets her touch his arm, and he chatters on, not pushing her. She realizes that she’s happy, for the first time since her brother left, and her mom died, and Ned keeps talking, his voice pulling her into his bubble. She leans her head on his shoulder. He doesn’t push her.

MJ is seventeen, and Ned is cheerier than normal at lunch. He met the new student, he tells her, and his name is Peter, and he’s super smart, and funnier than Flash. MJ raises an eyebrow, and _hmms_ , and keeps reading her book. She meets the new kid – Parker – in her last class, calculus, and finds Ned is right, he is smart. She mentions to Ned that he’d be a good fit for AcaDec, not missing the way his eyes light up. They don’t talk about their solid yellow marks, and they don’t talk about how everyone says that means true love. They’re friends, and they’re happy.

MJ is seventeen, and Liz leaves, and suddenly she’s the captain of AcaDec, and it’s a bit much for her, but she looks out at the table and Ned is there, smile shining bright on his face, Peter next to him, and she takes a deep breathe to steady herself. She hits the big changes she’s made to the schedule, then says they’re having a quick practice, and splits them into teams. Peter and Ned are on the same team, and MJ sits at the front of the room, watches Ned ruffle Peter’s hair, and rub a hand over his shoulders. She watches Peter reciprocate, sees the way he leans into Ned’s touch, and tamps down the flare of jealousy in her chest. She reads the questions, and Peter does the best out of the whole team.

MJ is seventeen, and Ned invites her over to Peter’s apartment to watch movies with them. He doesn’t ask when Peter’s around, instead, he slips it into conversation that he’s hanging out there on Saturday night, and he misses spending time with her, and Peter isn’t that bad when you get to know him, and he’s sure she’d think he’s funny, and to just give him a chance. MJ can’t say no to him, especially when she sees the sigh of relief overtake his shoulders and feel his fingers tap lightly on his arm. She doesn’t miss that what was previously one finger tapping on one mark – her mark, the one they shared, Ned was her soul mate, they just weren’t there yet – has become two fingers, tapping her mark and the one next to it, and she puts it together that Ned and Peter are soul mates too and if she wants Ned she gets Peter too. She doesn’t tell Ned she knows. She shows up Saturday night to the Parkers’ apartment, is given a kiss on the cheek by May Parker, who says Peter’s on his way from the Tower, and then sits on the couch with Ned.

MJ is seventeen, and she’s sitting between Ned’s legs, back against his chest, trailing her fingers up and down his arm, feeling safe for the first time in a while, when there’s a crash and the sound of a window breaking. She doesn’t miss Ned sighing deeply, not when she can feel his body along hers, and they get up, run to what could only be Peter’s room, to find Spider-Man spread eagled across the lower bunk of Peter’s bunk beds, one hand tight to his shoulder, the other trying to yank his mask off.

She stands in the doorway while Ned goes in, helps Spider-Man sit up. She watches as Ned manipulates the suit and peels down the material from the neck, sliding it down his shoulders. She sees Spider-man’s soul marks: one black, two yellow, six (six?!) blue; all evenly spaced along his right arm. She watches Ned take over putting pressure on Spider-Man’s right shoulder, sees his head droop onto Ned’s shoulder, then shoot up as if he’d just noticed her standing there for the first time.

“MJ, can you go get the first aid kit out of the bathroom, please? It’s the first drawer on the left.” Ned’s voice shocks her into motion, and she forces her body to move into the hallway, then opens doors until she finds the bathroom.

She stares at herself in the mirror, hands clenched tight to the edge of the counter. She’s shaking, her whole body, quivering like a leaf in the wind. “Get a grip, Michelle Jones,” She says out loud, leaning down and rustling through the drawers of the vanity, “It’s just Spider-Man, in Peter’s room. He’s hurt, and he needs help. Get a goddamn grip.” She shuts the drawers, throws one last glance over her shoulder into the mirror, and walks out, back to Peter’s room.

They’ve changed positions while she’s been gone, Spider-Man’s suit gone from the neck done, dressed in a tank top and pair of sweatpants tucked into socks. Only the mask remains. MJ knocks lightly on the doorframe, watches Spider-Man’s eyes shoot up to her – the mask’s eyes contract, then dilate, as he relaxes back into Ned’s hold.

“Thanks, MJ. Go ahead and open it, grab out some gauze and soak it with the spray, okay?” Ned’s voice is steady, the same way his grip must be. She nods her head, sets the kit up on Peter’s desk. She unzips the kit, does as Ned asks, then brings it to him. Spider-Man hasn’t said a word the whole time, has been so quiet he could be asleep if MJ couldn’t hear the pained huffs of breath he makes as Ned swipes the gauze over the wound on his arm.

She kneels in front of them, steadies herself with a hand on Ned’s thigh. The touch is grounding, gives her confidence to open her mouth, and ask, “What happened?” Both boys hold their breath – Ned’s eyes are locked on MJ’s hand, still resting on his leg, Spider-Man’s gaze holding hers.

“It’s just a graze,” he finally mumbles, looking away after MJ blinks slowly at him a few times. “It was an accident. It’ll heal in like, an hour.” He ducks his head against his chest.

“Okay. Okay, then, so you’re gonna be fine, but that doesn’t explain why,” She pauses, steeling herself, removing her hand from Ned, “That doesn’t explain why you’re still wearing your mask, Peter.” As she finishes her sentence, she gently pulls the mask off his head, revealing Peter’s face, complete with red, flushed cheeks, and messy curls that flopped everywhere once the mask was clear of his head.

“How long have you known?” Ned asked as she sat back on her heels, clutching the mask between her hands. She looks at him, lets a small smile break through the normally stony exterior. “Tonight convinced me – I mean, he kept showing up late to practice, and leaving right when it ended, and there were so many bruises. Then, you kept insisting we come over here tonight, which, for the record, was sus as hell, but then again, I figured you were going to tell me he was your soul mate too, so it wasn’t too weird. May saying he was at the Tower was also kind of a giveaway, and then flying into his own window wearing a spandex onesie was pretty much confirmation.”

Ned shook his head in exasperation, letting out a small chuckle. “I don’t know why I try to keep secrets from you, MJ, I really don’t, but I also love when I get to tell you that you’re not completely right, and I’m really going to enjoy this.” He nudges Peter, who’s been oddly quiet through the whole exchange. “I think you should tell her, man, before she figures it out and takes the fun out of it.”

MJ cocks her head to the side, gaze falling onto Peter’s face, meeting his eyes. She’s suddenly aware he’s been staring at her since she took off his mask. “Tell me what, Ned?”

Peter sighs, then knocks Ned’s hand gently away from his shoulder, peeling back the gauze to check the wound. “I think we’re soul mates, too, Michelle, that’s why I wanted Ned to bring you over tonight. I figured you wouldn’t come if it was just me asking, and I know that you and Ned are a thing, right, and I don’t want to mess that up,” He stands up from the bed, stepping around MJ, still sitting on the floor. He holds a hand out to her, and she places the mask into his hand, and he turns away, stooping to pick up the suit from beside the bunk where Ned had dropped it, stashing it in his closet. He pulls out a hoodie, slips it over his head.

MJ is struck by how _adorable_ Peter looks in the hoodie. It’s definitely not his, the sleeves are too long, giving him little sweater paws, and his socks are mismatched, one blue with white snowflakes, the other green with a hamburger print.

She realizes, too late, that she’s just looking him up and down, staring at him unabashedly where he stands in front of her, and it’s when she drags her eyes up his body and meets his eyes that his words process, and she jolts backward, back knocking into the edge of the bunk bed, knees coming up so she can rest her head in her hands and elbows on her knees. “What are you talking about, Peter, we’re not soul mates, you’re Ned’s soul mate, and I’m one of Ned’s,” she pauses, to take a breath, to catch her breath, to push the bubble of emotion threatening to explode in her chest.

“MJ, you gotta breathe. Look at me, just breathe, okay,” Ned’s voice, steady and familiar, drags her attention away from Peter, still standing in front of his closet. If she looks at him too long she gets lost in the desire to hug him and protect him.

She turns her head towards Ned, looks him in the eyes. He reaches out a hand, rests it on her arm, over her soul marks. She stares at his hand, trying to remember the last time she looked at them. “Oh, god, I haven’t checked. I should’ve checked earlier. I didn’t even think about it,” she folds her legs into crisscross-applesauce, shakes Ned’s hand off her arm, pulls her sleeve up, screws her eyes shut. She can’t look. “Ned, I can’t look, will you tell me if they’ve changed? There should only be three, two black and one yellow, because it’s you, please, Ned, have they changed?”

It’s silent for a long moment. She can hear rustling, can feel Ned’s warmth beside her as he slides down from the bed to sit next to her on the floor. She feels a new warmth, on her other side, and before she can process it, there are two hands instead of one on the bare skin of her arm – Ned’s hand, fingers wrapped around so his fingers rest over his mark, and what can only be Peter’s hand, palm blazing a few inches down from Ned’s.

“MJ, it’s okay,” Ned whispers into the silence, wrapping his other arm around her shoulders, pulling her to rest tightly against his side. “You’ve still got three marks. The middle one isn’t black, not anymore. I don’t know how long it hasn’t been black, but mine hasn’t been for a few months, ever since Peter and I became friends, and he sits with us at lunch every day, MJ, so you two are friends, too, and it’s okay. Change isn’t bad, okay?”

She ducks her head, unwilling to meet Ned’s eyes – she knows how honest, and open, and how much emotion he’s projecting just based on his tone, and it’s too much for her to handle. It’s all too much, and she can feel Peter’s hand circling her second mark – and she realizes, it’s no longer just her mark, it’s his.

She didn’t ascribe to the traditional soul mate theory – that soul mates belonged to each other. She didn’t understand why it mattered until Ned wormed his way into her heart, and into her head, and she went from being a strong, independent women to belonging to someone else and feeling like she had a home. Now, she’s Peter’s, too, and Peter is hers, the same way Ned is hers. Ned has been hers, he’s always been there in any capacity that she needs, and he’s never pushed her, and he’s never asked her about not having blue marks, he’s just been there for her, supported her, and let her lean on them, because they belonged to each other.

It didn’t matter that it wasn’t romantic yet, because there was always the undercurrent of the eventuality, and they both knew it – that eventually, they’d be more to each other, but something would have to happen first – MJ didn’t expect that something to be Peter fucking Parker. She didn’t expect a second soul mate to be the reason she realized she wanted more with her first soul mate. It’s startling, and world changing, and calming, all at the same time. It’s simultaneously shaking her whole world up and turning it upside down and sand settling into the cracks and ridges that make her soul up. It’s the most right she’s ever felt, and it’s that feeling, and that feeling only, that allows her to keep breathing past the ocean of love in her chest.

“We’re going to be okay,” She says, mostly for herself, “We, the three of us, we are going to be okay. This is going to work.” She’s rewarded for her quiet proclamation with a grin from Ned, her sunshine boy, and when she turns her head to Peter, sets her other hand over his on her arm, he smiles, too, and she realizes that they’re enough for her, and she’s enough for them.

MJ is eighteen, and she gets to spend the night at the Parkers’ apartment, with her soul mates. (She still gets a little zip of lightning through her, when she thinks about them – they’re hers, they are her soul mates, she has laid claim to them, and they have laid claim to her.)

MJ is eighteen, and Peter doesn’t crash through the window anymore; instead, he slips through the already-open window to find her and Ned asleep on his bed (new, courtesy of Tony Stark, who, aside from all the issues MJ had with him, had completely supported Peter in his multiple soul mates). MJ gets the pleasure of nudging Ned awake to watch Peter change from his suit into pajamas, and join them.

“Anything exciting out there tonight, Peter?” Ned’s voice, sleepy mumbles whispered into Peter’s hair where he rests half on MJ and half on Ned, is tied for the best sound MJ’s ever heard.

“Nothing to write home about,” Peter quips back, one hand worming under the blanket to grasp MJ’s waist, the other splaying on Ned’s back, “Nothing as good as what I have right here.” They laugh, the three of them, shaking the bed with the force, and MJ feels at peace.

**Author's Note:**

> I listened to a very specific playlist while I wrote this: 
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7diVxlJLjn2ITGJ8QrtN7D?si=y9cPNfUFSAa223UFiQzkEg
> 
> It's a Parkner playlist, but honestly, it fits our favorite foursome. 
> 
> as always, let me know what you think!!!! comments are my lifeblood.


End file.
